United's win over Danish champions Aalborg last night was overshadowed by what looked like worrying knocks to Scholes and Rooney.

Scholes was forced off in the 14th minute with knee-ligament damage, which could rule him out until after Christmas, while Rooney suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury just before the hour. The loss of two of United's most influential players could not have come at a worse time for Sir Alex Ferguson as they try to claw their way back up the Premier League table and overcome their stuttering start to the campaign.

Rooney put United ahead in the 22nd minute before Dimitar Berbatov scored his first goal since his £30.75m move from Tottenham and added United's third 10 minutes from time with a superb finish.

Berbatov, blamed for Spurs' poor start to the season after leaving them in the summer and criticised for his poor work-rate since switching to United, was finally smiling after the match.

He said: "I knew they would come sooner or later. Any goal is a good goal and the most important thing is that I helped my team to win."

Skipper Rio Ferdinand suggested Rooney had left the pitch as a precaution although fears over the seriousness of the Scholes injury cast a depressing shadow over the evening.

The former England international had to be substituted following a challenge from Thomas Augustinussen.

United boss Ferguson confirmed: "He's got kneeligament damage. We don't know how serious it is. We'll have it assessed as soon as we get home. There's a cost to pay for our victory."